Category Archives: History

31 years ago today, we woke up to the fact that over 200 of my fellow Marines were killed by a truck bomb. A truck bomb…now we have the “fancy” term Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED). In accordance with … Continue reading →

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It has been 34 years since the fall of the US Embassy in Tehran. While that is an event that many of us have placed in the dustbins of history, we received a reminder of the event as “tens of … Continue reading →

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30 years ago today, we woke up to the fact that over 200 of my fellow Marines were killed by a truck bomb. A truck bomb…now we have the “fancy” term Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device (VBIED). In accordance with … Continue reading →

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Technology is a wonderful thing, and people find the most creative ways to apply their tools. This article from the Business Insider, and the resulting re-touched photos is pretty amazing. Update: More photos. These are from China prior to the … Continue reading →

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71 years ago today, the Imperial Japanese Navy launched waves of small propeller driven aircraft from ships in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. These aircraft swept down across the hills of Oahu and executed one of the most devastating surprise attacks in modern … Continue reading →

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Well, it appears as if there are some new developments going in on the Continent, that unfortunately appear to be old actions being resurrected for the 21st Century. Let’s take a look at the highlights of recent events: Greece continues to have widespread protests … Continue reading →

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On this day 237 years ago our Corps became a reality. The first Marines were recruited, and signed their papers on this day in 1775. In a small tavern in Philadelphia the United States Marine Corps was born. Today we celebrate that … Continue reading →

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Pushing the Boundaries of Propelling Deep Space Missions

Engineers at NASA’s Glenn Research Center are advancing the propulsion system that will propel the first ever mission to redirect an asteroid for astronauts to explore in the 2020s. NASA's Asteroid Redirect Mission will test a number of new capabilities, like advanced Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP), needed for future astronaut expeditions into deep space, including to Mars.
The Hall thruster is part of an SEP system that uses 10 times less propellant than equivalent chemical rockets. In a recent test, engineers from Glenn and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, using a Glenn vacuum chamber to simulate the space environment, successfully tested a new, higher power Hall thruster design, which is more efficient and has longer life. “We proved that this thruster can process three times the power of previous designs and increase efficiency by 50 percent,” said Dan Herman, Electric Propulsion Subsystem lead.
Hall thrusters trap electrons in a magnetic field and use them to ionize the onboard propellant. The magnetic field also generates an electric field that accelerates the charged ions creating an exhaust plume of plasma that pushes the spacecraft forward. This method delivers cost-effective, safe and highly efficient in-space propulsion for long duration missions. In addition to propelling an asteroid mission, this new thruster could be used to send large amounts of cargo, habitats and other architectures in support of human missions to Mars.
Image Credit: NASA
Michelle M. Murphy (Wyle Information Systems, LLC) Read More